56 
MALDONADO 
CHAP. 
one spot like a hawk, and then proceeding on to another. 
When seen thus suspended in the air, it might very readily at 
a short distance be mistaken for one of the Rapacious order ; 
its stoop, however, is very inferior in force and rapidity to that 
of a hawk. At other times the Saurophagus haunts the neigh¬ 
bourhood of water, and there, like a kingfisher, remaining 
stationary, it catches any small fish which may come near the 
margin. These birds are not unfrequently kept either in cages 
or in courtyards, with their wings cut. They soon become 
tame, and are very amusing from their cunning odd manners, 
which were described to me as being similar to those of the 
common magpie. Their flight is undulatory, for the weight of 
the head and bill appears too great for the body. In the even¬ 
ing the Saurophagus takes its stand on a bush, often by the 
roadside, and continually repeats without change a shrill and 
rather agreeable cry, which somewhat resembles articulate 
words : the Spaniards say it is like the words " Bien te veo ” 
(I see you well), and accordingly have given it this name. 
A mocking-bird (Mimus orpheus), called by the inhabitants 
Calandria, is remarkable, from possessing a song far superior 
to that of any other bird in the country : indeed, it is nearly 
the only bird in South America which I have observed to take 
its stand for the purpose of singing. The song may be com¬ 
pared to that of the Sedge warbler, but is more powerful ; some 
harsh notes and some very high ones being mingled with a 
pleasant warbling. It is heard only during the spring. At 
other times its cry is harsh and far from harmonious. Near 
Maldonado these birds were tame and bold ; they constantly 
attended the country houses in numbers, to pick the meat which 
was hung up on the posts or walls : if any other small bird 
joined the feast, the Calandria soon chased it away. On the 
wide uninhabited plains of Patagonia another closely allied 
species, O. Patagonica of d’Orbigny, which frequents the valleys 
clothed with spiny bushes, is a wilder bird, and has a slightly 
different tone of voice. It appears to me a curious circum¬ 
stance, as showing the fine shades of difference in habits, that 
judging from this latter respect alone, when I first saw this 
second species, I thought it was different from the Maldonado 
kind. Having afterwards procured a specimen, and comparing 
the two without particular care, they appeared so very similar, 
